Jarome Iginla lands with the Colorado Avalanche

Former Calgary Flame signs with Patrick Roy’s club in search of Lord Stanley

Former Flames captain Jarome Iginla is coming back west to play for the Colorado Avalanche.

Photograph by: Jeff McIntosh
, THE CANADIAN PRESS

Jarome Iginla tried, for many years, to win a Stanley Cup with the Calgary Flames.

Then with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Then with the Boston Bruins.

Now, the former Flames captain gets another opportunity, this time with the Colorado Avalanche.

On Canada Day, his 37th birthday, Iginla signed a three-year, $16-million contract with the young, overachieving, squad coached by Patrick Roy.

“That’s the hope one day,” said Iginla during a conference call Tuesday, amid the NHL’s free agency frenzy. “I do believe the sky is the limit with those guys. They’re driven all the way through the organization, there’s no question. There’s lots of good things that are going to happen that are already happening.

“But I’m excited to be able to come for three years and be a part of that and work and try to contribute and grow with the guys. It was important, from a family standpoint, to have that stability and to buy a house ... you don’t want to come and just have one shot at it with a one-year deal. I do believe they are going to win it.”

There were rumours of Iginla signing with the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Vancouver Canucks, and even the Detroit Red Wings but eventually he settled on the promise of the Avalanche.

After tanking during the 2013 season, Colorado finished atop the Central Division ahead of both the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues. Although the Avs eventually lost to the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the 2013-14 playoffs, they turned a lot of heads.

Now, Iginla will join his old Flames linemate Alex Tanguay (who sent him a text, luring him to the squad), 2014 Calder Trophy winner Nathan Mackinnon and other top-six forwards like Gabriel Landeskog and Matt Duchene.

The move also reunites him with his former teammate Joe Sakic, the Avalanche’s executive vice-president of hockey operations. The two won Olympic gold on behalf of Canada at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

Returning to the Bruins didn’t make much sense because of the cap situation they were in. Heading into free agency, they only had $5.69-million in space for next season.

Even a one-year dear for Iginla would have been a challenge for the Bruins, and he understood.

“I was aware that going back to Boston wasn’t looking like was going to be an option,” said Iginla, who scored 525 goals and netted 1,095 points in 1,219 games as a Calgary Flame. “At the time, my family, before free agency, we did want to be able to work it out. We realized going into it with the cap and the cap being lower than expected and Boston had the great young players they do, that it really wasn’t an option.

“So, we went with Colorado and they were definitely near the top of our list if not, the top.”

On Tuesday, Iginla insisted he has enough energy left in his tank to keep up with Colorado’s fast-paced youth.

“As far as my game dropping off, I don’t think it will,” said the St. Albert native who had 30 goals and 61 points in the regular season and another five goals in the 2014 playoffs. “This last year in Boston, I felt was a real solid year ... I felt good. I felt I actually had a ton of scoring chances that just wouldn’t go in at the start of the year.

“I don’t come expecting to do less. I come expecting to work hard and expecting the same from myself.”

Tuesday’s move also represents a bit of a homecoming as Iginla returns to the West.

Last season, he received a hero’s welcome when he returned to the Scotiabank Saddledome in December. This year, he’ll visit the city again on Dec. 4 and March 23 while the Flames play the Avalanche in Denver on March 14. The teams also clash twice in the pre-season: Sept. 28 at Colorado and Sept. 30 at Calgary.

“I like it,” Iginla said of returning to the West. “I enjoyed my time in Boston ... but I kind of know the buildings a little better, I even know some of the players and the teams. My wife, also, being closer to home. She’s very excited about it, having family come down and visit more often.”

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